


Starlight

by Spazzcat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, SCREW CANON I DO WHAT I WANT, nothing but feels, the reunion he deserved and didn't get, written for the mom's eyes only zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 15:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20837963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzcat/pseuds/Spazzcat
Summary: When Shiro left for Kerberos, he never expected a one-year mission to turn into a seven-year absence, but there was nothing that could be done except mourn in private for lost years and move on with saving the universe. But now, back on Earth, he might just discover that in saving the universe, he saved the center of his own universe too.





	Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Mom's Eyes Only zine! Which unfortunately has not actually been distributed to buyers yet, due to some problems involving one of the mods (see the zine's tumblr for all the drama deets). But please enjoy the story in the meantime!
> 
> Also, I swear I haven't given up on TLA. Brainspace just hasn't been great for writing over the last year or so. But I hope to continue it eventually.

The burned-out ruins of what had once been Platt City General Hospital cast a long shadow over the convoy of Garrison vehicles as it ground to a halt at the base of the structure. Shiro tried to avoid looking at it as he climbed down to help unload the supplies they'd brought, but it was impossible not to. The place held so many memories for him.

_ "We've looked at your latest test results. You have maybe five years before you begin to experience a noticeable decline in muscle condition." _

_ "We're very sorry. It's stage four ovarian cancer. We estimate you have about three years." _

_ "Go, sweetheart. I'll still be here when you get back, I promise. I want to see you live your dreams while you can, and then I can die happy." _

He shook off the memories. Blinked away the tears before anyone could see them. That had been nearly seven years ago, and there was no use mourning again now for the important moments the Galra had stolen from him. Right now there were other people, living people, depending on these supplies to help them get by until the rebuilding of the shattered planet could begin, and he needed to focus on helping them.

It's what his mother would have wanted him to do.

He heaved a bale of spare clothing up onto his shoulder and joined the stream of personnel hauling supplies through a gap in the torn wall of the hospital. A few sharp twists amongst fallen debris disguised the entrance to a stairwell, and before long they found themselves in a network of old utility tunnels, just one of many such hidden, forgotten places that had served as life-saving refuges during the long years of the occupation. The place was crowded with people, lit by candles and oil lanterns, and chatter and laughter filled the air as the Garrison team was made welcome.

Shiro dropped off the bale in a former electrical room that was being used to organize supplies and headed back up to grab another load. He had dropped that off too and was just heading up for a third when someone grabbed his arm. "Wait, I know you. Aren't you Takashi Shirogane? The pilot of the Kerberos mission?"

Startled, he glanced over his shoulder. A man he didn't recognize, but who clearly recognized him, but that wasn't so surprising. What was unusual was what he'd called him. Kerberos mission pilot. Not black paladin, not captain of the Atlas. Kerberos pilot. It had been a long time since that’s all he was.

Before he could speak he was being tugged away down the hallway. "It's an honour to finally meet you, Shirogane. Heard all about you, reaching for the stars, taking humanity onwards and outwards."

They passed knots of people, some soldiers, many not, and every face held recognition as they saw him and the man talked. Shiro tried to get a word in edgewise but couldn't, being tugged ever-deeper into the refuge. They burst into a large room, suddenly, the man stopped talking, and before Shiro could get more than two syllables out the rest of the sentence died in his throat. There were children gathered here, obviously a make-shift nursery and schoolroom and playroom all in one. And supervising them...

Supervising them...

"Mom?" His voice cracked in his throat.

She looked up and her face lit up into the soft, warm smile he remembered so well. Shiro could hardly breathe as she pushed herself to her feet. Gone was the weakness of illness, gone were the shaking hands. She wasn't haggard, her face wasn't lined with pain. Somehow, miraculously, she wasn't just alive, long after she should have run out of time. She was _ healthy. _

Shiro was so overwhelmed he didn't realize he'd frozen to the spot until warm arms wrapped around him, and that was all it took. His own arms came up automatically, curling around her, his face tucking into her hair, and his breath left him in a shuddering gasp. Suddenly he was crying, for the first time in who-knew-how-long, and his mother was safe and warm and vibrantly alive in his arms.

"You're alive." He whispered his voice thick with tears. "You're here. Oh my god..." His whole body shuddered with a sob. "I missed you so much, mom."

"I missed you too, baby." His mother's voice was just as thick, her body trembling with emotion as she held onto him tightly. "I always knew you'd come home. I knew it." Soft hands cupped his cheeks, tugging him down, and a loving kiss pressed to his forehead. "Welcome home, Takashi."

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, weeping in his mother's arms while she rubbed his back and held him close, but eventually his tears ran out. He pulled back only a little, pressing his sleeve to his eyes to dry the tears coating his cheeks. "How?" He whispered once he managed to find the strength to speak again. "How is this possible?"

To his surprise, she laughed softly. "Funny story, that. About four years ago, the Galaxy Garrison suddenly started producing all these technological advancements, in a lot of different areas. Physics. Engineering. Biology. Medicine." She gave him a meaningful look.

Shiro inhaled sharply. Four years ago. Commander Holt.  _ And all the stored knowledge aboard the Castle of Lions. _

"Anyway, I won't bore you with the details of drug trials and experimental treatments. Suffice it to say, it was enough. By the time the Galra arrived, I was back on my feet. All that was left to do was wait for my son to come home."

Her smile was so full of love and joy it nearly broke Shiro's heart. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "For making you wait so long."

There was so much more he wanted to apologize for. For the heartache she must have suffered when the failure of the mission was announced. For not somehow getting a message to her during his brief hours back on earth five years ago. For not having the courage to send a message to a mother who may not even have been alive anymore when commander Holt returned, who he could not, no matter how much he wished to, return to to say goodbye if she was. For everything he'd been through, that left him scarred inside and out. That left him changed, afraid, broken, a killer. No longer the innocent, starstruck, vibrant young man he'd been when they'd said their goodbyes before Kerberos.

Somehow, all the words he could get out were, "I never even brought you those space rocks I promised."

And somehow, she understood.

Gentle hands touched his cheeks, which were wet with tears once more. ”Hush, sweetheart. I wanted to see you fulfill your dreams, remember?" His mother told him, voice infinitely warm and accepting and, as always, full of love. "And now look at you, Takashi, my little star-flyer, my galaxy-traveller. Who needs space rocks when you brought me back starlight in your hair?"


End file.
